Monday, May 6th was the day of the Met Gala 2024. As is tradition, stars walked the red carpet in an array of flamboyant and eccentric outfits, all pushing for their space in viral media. But, a more important story for the photo industry relates to AI imagery and its influence on the globally acclaimed annual fundraiser.

The Met Gala 2024: Facts and Fiction

The Met Gala 2024 was full of A-Listers. J-Lo, Bad Bunny, Cardi B, Lil Nas X were just some of the names at the big event. Beautiful images of their carefully crafted attire have flooded news publications and social media.

Also present online were images of Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Rhianna and Beyonce. They were all in their outfits parading around the Met Gala 2024 - the reality is none of them attended the event.

All these images were generated by someone using AI image software. It’s unclear who is behind the images. What is clear, however, is that many in the general public were unaware that what they were viewing wasn’t actual photography.

Responding to an AI image of Lady Gaga on Facebook, one user wrote, “You are a living, walking, art masterpiece ❤️ always”. Another user said “Nailed it!!!! fricken love it from head to toe!!!!”.

AI images of various stars at the Met Gala have certainly gone viral. According to Forbes, a fake image of Perry received 15.5 million views and 314,000 likes on X - that number is likely to increase.

Can people spot AI images?

The usual flaws were present; artificial looking faces, odd limbs and, yes, the hands. But, clearly this wasn’t enough to not fool the average consumer. Thousands of comments came in praising the dress choices of Rhianna, Gaga et al.

Thankfully, many people were internet-wise and spotted the reality of what they were viewing. Many users across all social platforms commented that these images were not photos, but in fact AI.

However, as savvy as many people are, it feels there’s a lot more people unaware of what they are looking at. For those who don’t know how to spot a fake, believing what they see seems to be the only alternative.

Is the worst yet to come?

AI imagery is still very much in its infancy, but it’s already causing quite the commotion, and that’s looking at it brightly. It has quickly become very difficult for people to know what is the truth. This type of content goes far beyond an attack on photography - it’s an attack on reality.

Massive media companies, social media giants and everyone else in between needs to call out fake AI images masquerading as honest photography.

Sure, the likes of Google and Meta have said they’re committed to helping people determine if a photograph is real or AI generated. They’ll do this by adding a symbol people can hover over, unlocking the metadata and clarifying if it’s AI - but people still have to know to ask the question.

This isn’t enough. Companies really must dig deep to find a solution. Whether that means scraping data from a file and slapping a big “this is AI” watermark over it, or not allowing the post whatsoever, if the author hasn’t openly stated it’s an AI image in advance.

The fallout of the Met Gala 2024 may seem like light hearted fun and games to some, but if not managed correctly the future may be bleak. Again, not just for those of us in the photo industry but for the whole of society and what we believe the truth to be.

What do you think about the AI images? Let me know in the comments.

The images in the article are screenshots taken from Facebook and X.

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